Reach for the Sky--Mark Siet- Chapters

8/6/2019 Reach for the Sky--Mark Siet- Chapters

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Reach for the Sky

Author: Mark Siet

Contact: 949-842-3437 or [email protected]

Chapter One: An Idea Is Born



It was just past dinner, early in the evening when August days seem to go on

forever. Michael Miller was absently watching the news with the sound turned low. His

journal was there beside him on the sofa. The news was all about oil prices rising, and

trouble in the Middle East. It was the same old story. Shooter, a black tiffany cat stared

up at him with her eyes glowing as she made her way along the coffee table to rub against

his hand. He rubbed the top of her head and under her chin as she purred and then lay

down on the pillow placed near the edge of the table just for her.

“Someone needs to design a better way to deliver all the energy we’re using. This

oil thing has gone on too long. There has to be a way to figure out a cheaper energy

solution.” Michael said looking at Shooter as he picked up his journal.

Shooter looked up and then turned her head to lie on her side with her paws

cradling her nose and whiskers. Michael smiled and thought of the Carly Simon song

“You’re So Vain.” Shooter thought everything was about her. She definitely had a feline

centric view of her world. Michael opened the journal and began to draw designs.

We need a fresh approach, he thought. Somehow by combining technologies

there has to be an answer to this. It is going to come down to how the heat is transferred.

All energy transformations have to deal with this. It’s a shame I don’t know too much

about automobile repair but still what I do know is better than most. Maybe if there were

a controlled reaction that utilized the incredible forces of the atom. He continued

drawing using colored pens to illustrate the diagram. After about forty-five minutes he

was done. The drawing showed a combination of fiber optics, ceramic transistors, a

liquid collection tank, and something he called a miniature accelerator. The miniature



accelerator used some special wiring encased in a liquid he would have to experiment

with to get the right combination for a maximum transfer rate. He sat back and admired

his design for a few moments.

“Hey Shooter, what do you think? Does this have any chance of working?”

Shooter opened one eyelid slightly, and stretched before rolling towards him and placing

one of her forepaws against his leg. Then she blinked once with both eyes and returned

to a curled up position.

“I love you too, kitty.” He said as he took one last look at his doodling and closed

the journal. He lay back for a while thinking about his design and then sat straight up.

He opened the notebook. The design reminded him of something. Perhaps he had been

drawing from memory but what was that memory. What had triggered this drawing? He

went over in his mind the past few days’ events. He had put in a couple of calls to Tony

Cicco and Ace Lomax his band mates, did some shopping and kept in touch with his

agent. Of course he had spent a fair amount of time playing the guitar and recording

some new tracks. Then there was two nights ago when he was cleaning the garage out

he discovered the box full of his grandfather’s treasures.

His grandfather died less than a year ago. Mike still remembers him bringing

over the box and saying to him, “These are my treasures. I don’t want anyone to have

these but you. You never know they might come in handy for you some day. Give them

a good place to rest here,” Grandfather had told him. It was an awkward moment. They

both knew he had a weak heart. Mike tried to get him to stop taking all his medicines and

to try some alternative approaches to the treatments he was receiving. Perhaps he would

have listened to him if his Grandmother were alive. She was always ready to try



something new. Ever since her death Grandfather had lost the will to live it seemed. All

he said to Mike’s entreaties to try and take care of himself was, “If it’s my time to go I

don’t want to keep her waiting,” meaning his wife, the love of his life. Mike couldn’t

argue with him. A few weeks after giving him the box of treasures Grandfather passed.

The box had remained unopened for a while on the top shelf in his bedroom. Then he

had transferred it to the garage. He was saving it the same way he was saving the

memories of his Grandfather. When he went into the garage a couple of days ago for a

stereo patch cord he had to move several things out of the way to reach the box

containing the cord. It turned into a general reorganization taking more than an hour to

complete. It was during this that he found Grandfather’s box of treasures set way in the

back. He took the box out and sat down and began to go through the box for the first

time.

Inside were stacks of pictures of his grandmother and grandfather and also of the

two of them together. After he set these aside he found two preserved newspapers from

nineteen forty-five declaring VJ and VE day. Grandfather did not serve as a part of the

military during this time. His work for General Electric gave him a security clearance

and was deemed being of a vital nature to the war effort. He had never talked much

about what happened then. Like most men in his generation he had a hard time

expressing his feelings. Sometimes he would open up and then all of a sudden shut

himself off as if he were remembering something that forbade him from continuing. It

was frustrating. He must have been more candid with Grandmother he thought. The two

of them were always so happy together.



Underneath the newspapers he remembered that he saw some more papers and a

black valise. Some of these papers had some diagrams on them that he had studied for a

few moments. They were diagrams of circuits and of engines he recalled. He assumed

they were part of his Grandfather’s work. Yes he thought this must be the basis of what

he found himself drawing tonight. He never did open the black valise that night because

his agent had returned his call on his cell phone and he had quickly put everything away

to speak with him. Tonight he had to find out what was in the valise and the rest of the

box. It was still relatively early. Quickly he put some shoes on and went out to his

garage. He grabbed the box and carted it back inside sitting besides it in the middle of

the living room floor.

Shooter came over to give it her characteristic inspection. She sniffed a couple of

times and tilted her head up and made a face. Then after circling the box she sat down to

Mike’s left and began cleaning herself. He opened it and sorted through the various

drawings and diagrams that lay on top. Sure enough here were the two drawings that he

had somehow combined into the sketch he had made earlier. Then he brought out the

black valise. It must have been very high quality leather for even though it was well

worn with age it continued to be soft and there were no discernable cracks anywhere.

Grandfather must have kept it safe all these years. He was about to open it when he saw

attached to one side an envelope with his name on it. Inside there was a letter addressed

to him from his Grandfather.

“My dearest grandson Michael I honestly don’t know where to begin. There is so

much to tell. I wish I could have spoken to you in person but there were other concerns

weighing on me about which you will soon find out. You see for the past sixty years I



have been a wanted man. I know it didn’t appear that way. I never even had so much as

a parking ticket. All the same I have been under suspicion by our government all this

time. Long ago I took something that wasn’t mine and was able to get away with it. The

valise that is now in your possession is the stolen article. I will tell you the story of this

valise and the man who passed it into my hands with a dying wish. It will amaze you,

perhaps anger you but most importantly I hope it will inspire you.

During the war as you know I worked on various projects for the government

while under the employ of Central Dynamo. Our headquarters were in New York City.

During lunch hours I would stroll around the park and sit for a while to watch life go by.

It happened one day while I was sitting there in nineteen forty-two that an older

gentleman began appearing in the park. He never sat down but he always had some food

with which to feed the pigeons. He dressed elegantly although his clothes were

obviously well worn. At first I thought he was mumbling to himself the way the old and

forgotten sometimes do. I wondered about him after seeing him every day. He seemed

devoted to the pigeons. Sometimes I would hear him laughing as if he were sharing some

joke with the pigeons or with himself. It was in early spring that I first noticed him

during that time of year when the cold weather would linger like an unwelcome guest. I

would sit there and not even get a sidelong glance from him. My lunch visits were

necessarily cut short by the demands of work. Each day I wondered increasingly about

him until one day at the end of April in nineteen forty-two he came to sit by me.

“Hello my friend. I am Nikola Tesla,” He said. At first the name did not register

on me. I was struck by the uncanny light in his eyes that radiated a kindness I would

only see in your Grandmother’s eyes during these days of war. I reached out my hand to



shake his and introduced myself. He was strangely familiar to me and as we sat there he

began talking about New York City. He said that despite the many avenues her parks

were the most beautiful of all. That first day we mostly sat and listened. He asked me

what I did for a living and I told him I worked for Central Dynamo. He smiled broadly

but didn’t say anything more. It was only after I walked away from our first meeting that

I recognized the name he had given. I felt stupid at the time. I don’t know whether you

have heard of this name but let me enlighten you. Nikola Tesla was the true father of

electricity. Everything that runs on alternating current today has Tesla to be thankful for.

He was an incredible genius the like of which the world may never know again. I know

you have some interest in electricity with your musical equipment. That is why I am

telling you this story and asking for your help in understanding a little bit better the life I

have been leading.

On subsequent meetings in the park we became friends. I would extend my lunch

hours just to spend more time with Nikola Tesla. Once he saw that I accepted him for all

of his eccentricities he gradually began opening up to me discussing electrical theory and

speaking about inventions he was planning to unveil before the world. These inventions

were of the most fantastic nature. I listened carefully to him and did not dismiss his

dreaming up of these unbelievable concepts. You have to understand. This was Nikola

Tesla, the man who lived in a world where direct current ruled and who dared to

challenge the status quo with his own creation, a workable theory for producing and

utilizing electricity using alternating current. I was more than familiar with his work.

Any electrical student of the times was thoroughly versed in Tesla. I considered myself

extremely fortunate to be having these talks with him no matter how far out they were at



times. In particular he would speak about his ‘harmonium theory.’ This is a concept that

he had proven no less than eleven years ago. What Tesla did was to power an automobile

built with a ninety-horse power electric engine without any external power source. No

gasoline was needed because this was an electric engine but more astoundingly there

wasn’t any battery present in the car. The story so it goes at the time states that all Tesla

did was to push in some rods in the automobile and declare ‘We now have power,’ and

then the car was off and running for a week attaining speeds of over ninety miles an hour.

You can corroborate these reports if you like. They were in all the newspaper in the area

at the time. No one knows how he did it. He spoke to me about this experiment and how

by inducing a magnetic resonance in the upper atmosphere he could literally draw power

down into an engine equipped with a specialized receiver. I listened in wonder but I must

admit I was very skeptical. After all this was a man who talked to pigeons and whose

flights of fancy were legendary. On the other hand so many of his theories were now in

use in today’s power filled world that I could not dismiss him entirely. I was wavering

like this in my belief in his theories when one day he took my belief by storm. After that

I became an ardent advocate of his. It happened like this.

In the park where we used to meet was a small pond where ducks would come in

the spring to sun themselves. He brought over to our bench two devices. One was a tiny

boat which when the cover was removed showed an engine which drove a small

propeller. An equally tiny rudder was attached to the boat that pivoted a full range of

motion. On the mast of this boat was an antenna of sorts. The second device when

opened up revealed a black box with a few transistors inside wired to a transmitting core.

On the outside of the box were two levers. One of them moved up and down and another



moved left, right and up and down. An antenna was also placed on the outside of this

box. On the side was a switch. He insisted that I examine both objects carefully. There

could be no doubt that these were meant to work wirelessly. I knew too that Tesla had

pioneered the work on wireless equipment a long time ago. There was only one problem

with these devices I told him. They had no power source. He just smiled like a child

who was keeping a great secret. We walked over to the pond. I supported him as we

made the short stroll up a slight incline to where the pond lay. He wasn’t in good health

you could see but that light in his eyes gave a new meaning to incandescent. Once we

reached the pond he handed me the boat and instructed me to set it there on the water. As

I did so he clicked the switch on the side of the black box and then proceeded using the

controls on the top of the box. The boat performed amazingly. It ran the length of the

pond and executing several turns before coming to rest again where I had set it upon the

water. I withdrew the boat and handed it back to him.

“You see,” He said. “We have all the power we need.” I started to ask him

questions but he had already started to move away stopping to speak to some pigeons

handing them some crumbs out of his coat pocket. I stood there dumbfounded. Was

there some trick? Perhaps he was a master magician and just having some fun with me.

Where was the power? I kept asking myself this on my way back into work. I never saw

him again in that park and thought I had completely lost touch with him. It wasn’t until

just after New Year’s Day Nineteen Forty-Three that I received a call from him. It was

after dinner. He wanted me to come up to his room thirty-three thirty-seven on thirty-

third floor of the Hotel New Yorker to meet with him. It sounded urgent. I immediately

rushed off to see him. When I knocked his door swung partly open.



“Nikola? It’s me, Arnold Miller,” I called in to him.

“Yes, yes of course come in and please shut the door, He answered. It was an

older hotel room he was in. It was a two-room suite. Besides a bed, a desk and chair,

two dressers, a nightstand, an easy chair and a bathroom the remaining wall space were

lined with tall metal cabinets. One of the cabinet doors was open revealing three

packages of Nabisco crackers. There was also a substantial safe in one corner of the

room that was open as well when he came in. The adjoining room contained similar file

cabinets as if this were one large office space rather than a residence. Pictures lined the

dressers and in another corner was another stack of boxes. Tesla was seated at the desk

going through some papers in a black valise. He smiled weakly at me as I approached.

“Arnold I am so grateful that you’ve come. You can never know how much,” He

said as he directed me to sit in the easy chair next to the desk.

“You do not look well. You look exhausted. You should be resting and not doing

work. What do your doctors say?” I asked him.

“Doctors? I’ve stopped taking their medicine. I should never have started. They

know nothing about me. Their poisons and arrogance will kill us all one day. I don’t

have much time Arnold. You must do something very important for me,” He said

agitatedly.

“Of course whatever I can. I am at your disposal,” I answered him leaning over

and taking his hand.

“I don’t have much time. No please it’s okay,” He said as I started to protest as

he lifted to heavy black valise. “Inside this valise is my notebook with notes for all of my

ongoing experiments. There are diagrams and instructions in here that will help the right



person to continue this work. It is vitally important that you find the right person. I don’t

mean the government either. I learned that entrusting them with anything becomes a

political battle and then a power struggle. In the end it is my experiments that are

scrapped. Their ignorance knows no bounds. I’m sure you experienced as much in your

work too,” He paused as I nodded in agreement. “I know you are not the person who

would continue my work but you are I sense the perfect person to use discretion in

passing this work on. However long it takes before you die promise me that you will

pass along my work to the right person,” He squeezed my hands and placed the valise in

them. I didn’t know what to say but his request compelled me to say yes. When he

thanked me there were tears in his eyes. Then he asked me to help him back into bed.

“Shall I close this window for you,” I asked.

“No my spirit shall soon depart. Let the mountain air of my childhood help

transport me. Now you must go. Thank you for your kindness Arnold. You’ll know too

when the time is right,” He smiled and then closed his eyes and was soon asleep. I left

his room then and as I did I noticed another black valise sitting in the corner identical to

the one I was carrying. I was in a hurry to be away from there and did not stop to

investigate. In fact I hid the valise once I arrived home and placed it inside of a safety

deposit box the next day. On that same day the news reported the passing of Nikola

Tesla. I later found out through my state department contacts that the contents of his

room had been impounded including the identical black valise of which I was in

possession of. His instructions to me became all the more important because in effect

they amounted to a dying man’s wishes.



I was always haunted that the government would somehow find out and arrest me.

Call me paranoid but I used to think I was being watched all the time. I could never

prove it but still the feeling was there. That was why I never took out the black valise

until just recently. The papers you see on the outside were some of the things that I was

looking into. There is so much more inside of the valise. I kept remembering Tesla’s

final words to me that I would know who to pass this on to. I believe with all my heart

Michael that it is you. In the valise are documents concerning experiments with upper

atmospheric energy, which can be utilized by tuning into the appropriate waveforms. It is

part of Tesla’s harmonium. I thought with your musical interest that you would find

some way to share this with the world. I caution you greatly concerning others you may

let into your confidence about these matters. Be careful. Whether or not I was being

watched all these years I know that they are capable of seeing much more into our

business then we have any idea of. Take your time and know that it is with the deepest

love that I give this to you. Somehow I trust that across the span of time there are

connections both here and now and onward into timelessness. This is one such

connection that I pass to you. With all my love and every blessing Michael please know

that for us you have always been the shining light of our lives. Now as Grandmother has

passed and soon I am to join her I offer you a context of mystery and yes ultimately of

fulfillment. With all my love everlastingly, Grandfather.

Mike was stunned. The letter and Grandfather’s secret were reverberating in his

brain. The black valise and the promise it held were simply astounding. Tesla? He

thought a moment and remembered his name. The Tesla coil that was what he

remembered. It was an air core transformer taking electricity and transforming it from



low voltage into extremely high voltages. He looked on the Internet and for over two

hours found a wealth of information about Nikola Tesla. He was for real. Many thought

he was crazy too. His Grandfather seemed to think there was something to Tesla’s talk of

energy from the atmosphere. What if this were true? It would create a revolution in the

energy world that’s for sure and he had perhaps the answers to it all. Shooter was zoned

out on the couch. It had all been a bit too much for her. Mike decided to turn in too.

Chapter Two: Starting Out

That night he slept soundly until first light. This was unusual for him. Most

nights he spent tossing never getting used to a good nights sleep. It was because his

working life was spent playing music until the early hours of the morning. Right now he



was between gigs. It was okay. He needed the rest especially after last nights amazing

revelations. As soon as he caught up on his sleep rhythms were when the work started

coming in again. It was funny how it seemed to work that way. He breakfasted on eggs

and sausage patties, rounded up his wallet and made ready to leave for a morning

appointment with his manager. Shooter had gone back to her sleeping spot from last

night after joining him for a few nibbles when he filled her dish for the day. The journal

too, was in its same place where he left it last night. In front of the coffee table was the

box containing the black valise. Carefully he carried it into his bedroom and stored it on

the floor next to his shoes. He caressed Shooter before leaving and then as an after

thought, picked up the notebook.

It was a cool morning as he stepped into his van and drove a few blocks up to

intersect Venice Boulevard. The morning mist was lingering for now. He would soon

leave it behind the closer he went downtown. The traffic was completely jammed. It

gave him a chance to open his journal to the diagrams he had made last night. Incredible,

he thought. What if this is a working design? If it was a working design and he

combined it with the information from Tesla it would be remarkable. He was probably

just dreaming here. Still, it would be a kick to pursue this idea and see if it gets

anywhere. He remembered his grandfather’s caution to be careful about sharing this

information. There was a computer whiz that lived on Sunset above a bridal shop who

might be able to tell him about the transistors and some of the other parts of his diagram.

She could be trusted he thought and there was the other thing. She was terribly cute. For

now they were good friends but it wouldn’t hurt to have an excuse to see her. His cell

phone rang then interrupting his reverie.



“Mike? It’s Jimmy at Triple A Talent. Sorry to do this but it is in your interest.”

Jimmy, his manager spoke quickly. He always did this. He also was always running to

somewhere making a deal. Lately Mike suspected he wasn’t doing much running for

him, which was why he was going over to see him today. He had the new masters from

the latest mix.

“Jimmy, I told you I was bringing the masters over. What’s up?

“I’m going over to see Ben Jodare at Le Club d’Etage. He mentioned something

about a steady gig for a trio. I thought of you right away. I think he is already there with

hiring you. We just have to work out some details. This morning was his only time to

meet. He is traveling the rest of the week. I’ll let you know. We’ll work out a time to

listen to the new material. Talk to you later okay.”

“All right Jimmy. Don’t sell me short.”

“Do I ever?” There was a pause.

“Don’t worry Mike I’ll take care of you. I have to run.”

“Right call me and let me know when we start.”

“Later.” Jimmy hung up. Mike didn’t expect much of Jimmy’s efforts. He was

such a skitz. One minute he was working like mad for you and the next ducking you. It

was his luck he thought to have a manager who had attention deficit disorder. Still they

had been together for close to ten years, which was like a lifetime in the music business.

He looked at the journal, which was turned to the page where the diagrams from the night

before were calling him. Traffic began moving again. He turned off and took a shortcut

through to Sunset and found himself in front of Julie Sharps apartment.



The bridal shop was closed. She lived above it in her computer world of

monitors and cables. Around the side of the building were stairs leading up to her place.

He carried the journal in one hand, putting his keys in his pocket with the other as he

climbed the steps. When he was about to knock on her door the door opened suddenly.

There was Julie smiling with arms open wide. She was still a mystery to him. Short hair

she had blue eyes that knocked you over with their sincerity. Her face was cute like a

pixie and full of mischief. She was wearing a light blue sweater, which was a size too big

for her and blue jeans that were a size too small. She was usually sensitive about her

figure which was generally tight everywhere that he could see. The mystery was why

they had never been together in a relationship. The times he had been with her were

mainly at the clubs he worked in. They talked sometimes after the gigs were over and he

drove her home once but the moment never seemed right. They were both too busy it

seemed with their careers. They did spend a day together when he helped her move into

this place a few months ago with Tony who played Bass in the band. The three of them

had gotten drunk the night she moved in. Tony had left before he did so he had the

opportunity to stick around but again the timing was off. It was really good to see her.

Julie gave him a hug like she hadn’t seen him forever, or he had just returned

from the dead. It was so passionate an embrace, that he was disoriented for a moment

there at the top of the stairs. As quickly as she hugged him she stood back and said.

“Hey. What are you doing here? You should still be sleeping. Did you work last

night?”

“No. We’ve been dry for about two weeks. I need to pick your brains about

something.” He said as she took his hand leading him into her apartment.



Once inside it was like being in another universe. It was one big room. There

weren’t any walls setup except for a bathroom in the corner farthest along the wall to the

left. The apartment covered the same area as the showroom floor in the bridal shop

below. Julie led him into her makeshift living area, which consisted of a long sofa and

two rocking chairs and a table made out of cinder blocks and a surfboard. He sat down

on the sofa while she removed some technical manuals from one of the rocking chairs

before sitting down facing him.

“Did you write a new song?” She asked him motioning with her hand at the

journal he was holding.

“No it isn’t a song. I am not sure what it is which is why I came over to see you.

I was trying to build something and wanted to talk tech with you.”

“Sure. What do you have there?” She leaned forward and took off her sweater

and placed it on the surfboard coffee table. It was a little warm inside.

“I started thinking about a way to build a cheap energy solution and began

drawing something which I thought would work,” She looked up at him and raised her

eyebrows. “I know its nuts. There was this show last night about oil prices skyrocketing

again and I thought I would doodle a little. The thing is I may have something here. At

least it looks good. If it is nonsense I can always frame the picture.”

He opened up the journal and began to pass it to her, but she moved over beside him on

the sofa. He lay open the journal with the diagram facing both of them.

“It would make a nice kind of modernistic painting. You could put a silver and

glass frame around it. I have just the place for it here. The colors blend together well.

What’s this?” She asked pointing at an area in the center of the diagram.



“It’s a collection tank. I was thinking maybe water with aluminum dust or some

other kind of liquid solution. It would have to conduct electricity very well in a

controlled manner. Over here is where I’ve put fiber optics. I envision these concentric

spirals to operate like a miniature accelerator moving the electrons from this reaction

taking place over here.” He pointed to a series of connecting boxes labeled transformers

and resistors. In between arrows denoted “chemical reactions taking place.”

“I thought that we could isolate the electrons at the particle level causing them to

accelerate rapidly producing heat and then by stepping down the energy cause a forward

motion. When the transformations were through they would collect here in the water

where the metallic solution would reverse the flow. This would continue the process.

The fuel would be water and whatever metal works best in this solution. What is given

off at the release point is the effect of the momentum of the acceleration of the electrical

ions. This heat and light here can be used to drive motors. I am not clear on how all of

this can be put together if it can be put together at all. I wanted to ask you about the

fiber optic wiring here. This is a key element I think. Also these transformers and

resistors would have to be very special in order to handle the heat coming off of this

thing.” He sat back. Julie was silent. She leaned forward and turned the journal one way

and then another.

“This is incredible. You know what. I know where to get those special

transistors. The Japanese have been experimenting with something just like this. The

reactions would have to be software controlled with an algorithm for the transfer rate. I

think what we have here is an ion generator. We would have to have someone build a

circuit board and find somewhere to test it. I don’t know about the collection tank. It



may have to be modified. Still this just might work. We need to put together a working

model. “Her face was animated now. She was sitting close to him now. He could smell

the hint of her perfume. Her enthusiasm was infectious. “We need to be careful here.

Something this big can be very dangerous. Have you told anyone else about this?”

“No. I only drew this up last night. I didn’t think it was feasible but just for the

heck of it, wanted to ask you. You know a lot more about these things than I do.” He

said seeing her smile in return. “You really think this isn’t more than ambitious

doodling?”

“Listen. I think it’s worth checking out. A friend of mine over at Cal State has

great lab setup. He has helped me modify most of my PC’s here. He knows tons about

electricity. Maybe we could go there after hours and talk to him. He is there Tuesdays

and Thursday’s. We could go there this Tuesday if you want. I could set it up.” She

leaned forward taking the journal in her hands. “This could work. Take the journal and

meet me here Tuesday afternoon around four. I have to get to an installation over in

Studio City. I’m already late. I wish you were gigging tonight.” She stood and he took

her hands in his.

“Thanks for taking look. Don’t tell anyone about this. You’re right. This could

be a dangerous secret we have here. Don’t even tell your friend. Can you trust him?”

He said as he began walking over to the door pausing a moment to admire the rack of

PC’s she had lined up on one half of her floor space.

“Yes I think so. He is very quiet and usually minds his own business. Besides if

anyone will know whether this plan of yours is workable it will be Ray. He is a great

guy you’ll see. I only hang out with great guy’s right?” She laughed as they went out on



the landing and down the stairs. Her car was parked on a side street. He walked over

with her. He wanted to tell her about his discovery last night but he held off.

“Jimmy thinks he may have a steady gig for us over at that new club in North

Hollywood, Le Club d’Etage. You know Jimmy always promising. I hope he is right on

about this.” Mike said as he helped Julie with her laptop and a few assorted packages

they maneuvered into the car.

“You’ll get the gig. I have this feeling.” Julie said and hugged him again. Before

she broke the embrace he kissed her on the cheek. She blushed and then looked at him

and got into her car. “Great guys Mike, that all I want to be with.” He laughed, waved

her away and returned to his car.

She thought it could work. Already there was an appointment setup to talk to an

expert about the feasibility of this idea. It wasn’t even twenty-four hours since he had

written in the journal. Things were moving fast. What if this were for real. How would

the information he learned from the Tesla black valise help? He needed to take a look at

what else was in that valise in addition to finding out all he could about Nikola Tesla.

The prospect of finding another way to produce energy was exciting. It would

revolutionize everything. Right now we’re locked into an oil-based culture. It is woven

into everything, even in our food. We’re held hostage by its availability, willing to pay

any price in order to control it or harvest it. What am I getting myself in for here he

thought? I’m a musician. I wanted a simple life. Just give me my guitar, a bass player

and drummer and a few people to listen and that was all I needed. This is crazy. Let me

call Tony and see if he wants to go over the new material. I need to play and clear my

head. Then I can do some research.



Chapter Three: General Line

General Martin Line. He had the kind of looks that would make you pick him out

of a crowd. Just under six feet tall, his always-fit figure was imposing. His once blonde

head of hair had turned completely white. There was always about him a curious look of

surprise almost as if he had just been awakened. When he smiled, which he did a lot, it

revealed every line and crevice of each campaign he had ever been in.

He had skipped West Point. In Vietnam he had made Lieutenant a week after he

arrived. Most units were taking heavy casualties then. He had a sense for staying alive

and for respecting the chain of command. It did him well. By the time soldiers were

flooding out of the country in 1973, he was a full captain on his way to becoming Colonel

with his own brigade to command. Stateside he was used to teach field tactics at the

operations schools. He soon became attached as adjutant to a four star on the chief of

staff commission for strategic development where he served with distinction. His

promotion to General allowed the army to assign him to head the new ESDT department

or the longer version, the department of Energy Source Development and Testing.

General Line had never married although he did have a thing for blond bombshells. He



was never able to have a long-term relationship with any of the ones he had hooked up

with. The standing joke was that his women were like his cigars. When he was through

with one he would simply light up another. The truth was he was kind in his way. He

was just so focused that any women who fell for him would have to share him with the

army. All of them up until now had chosen to leave him rather than put up with his

frequent absences because of duty. It didn’t seem to bother the General. There was

always someone else to take her place. Some whispered that he must have been getting

them from a modeling agency that specialized in this type of gal. Of course they

wouldn’t say this to his face. If they did, chances were they would be floating fast

towards the ground. The General’s temper was classic.

There had recently been a major reorganization at the ESDT. The department was

cut in half. The laboratory and listening sites were relocated from Four Corners in

Virginia to a few miles northwest of Mangas New Mexico. They had been settled in their

new location for about three months now. The remaining staff had stopped grumbling

about their unexpected move. They were for the most part single except the Roland’s,

Naomi and Bruce who were a part of the testing team. General Line was meeting with

them in them in his office. Their recent testing was close to verifying the validity of a

new process of cold fusion. Two scientists, Niles, and Highland, at the University of

Michigan, had made the discovery. They had written a paper about it hoping to get

funding from a major corporation. However the paper was never published. Once the

listening post at ESDT had gotten wind of it, the scientists were offered a lucrative

position working in the government labs in Maryland. They both thought they would be

working on cold fusion but they were being put off by work “essential to the security of



the United States.” They were put under the secrecy act and forbidden to talk about cold

fusion. All this had happened six months ago. Naomi and Bruce Roland began working

on the Niles-Highland thesis and were ready to produce a working model.

“General Line. I think this is the real thing. All of the tests are positive. We

would like permission to produce a working model.” Bruce Roland began speaking

while leaning slight forward in his chair.

“I agree with Bruce. The feedback rate makes this not only viable but also able to

be produced relatively cheaply. I am sure we could get this to work.” Naomi concurred

with her husbands’ findings.

“That is good news. Thank you. Both of you have done your usual great work.

You really think this can be used instead our current reliance on oil? We wouldn’t want

to raise any false hopes would we?” The General sat back in his chair.

“There is a way here to control the heat from the Palladium ions. We still are

unsure what is causing this excess heat but what is important is that by placing a screen

just so we can deflect and cause a measured reaction. It would only take possibly six

months if we could get the equipment to produce a working model for an engine the size

of an automobile.” Naomi brushed back her hair. At this time of day she looked a little

disheveled. Her usual neat morning look had been worn away by her ceaseless energy.

Her light brown hair had come free of the rubber band she used to knot it in the back.

She kept brushing at her bangs while she was speaking as if shooing away an annoying

fly. She was taller than her husband with a kind of fierce good looks that rarely exhibited

warmth. Even her marriage to her husband was based on admiration for his skills and not

out of any ties to her heart. He never understood this. He loved her for her beauty and



for their partnership, which allowed them both to pursue their passion for science. If it

were up to him they would be at the university living a life free of the insistent

government restraints. She had wanted to take this assignment for the prestige and the

outstanding pay, which they both received. The problem was that once they were in this

kind of a project there really was no way out. The scrutiny would continue for them even

long after they left the program. Still Bruce thought that their lives would be better and

that they could be closer to each other. This he wanted more and more lately. Naomi

was growing distant immersing herself in the work. Their usual lovemaking routine had

become sporadic. She did not seem to notice.

The general paused for a few moments reading their preliminary reports. It was a

significant finding. It was similar to ones he had gone over from two other independent

teams at the other locations in Salt Lake City and Des Moines. Like these others he

would make his report to the oversight committee and expect the same answer. “Let’s sit

on this one until we decide what we are going to do.” It was always the same. He never

once questioned their findings or their instructions. He was a good soldier. However he

was also intelligent enough to know that there was something more to their decisions to

keep these findings under wraps. He would let the Roland’s know how appreciative he

was for their work. They wouldn’t like putting this project to bed. Naomi especially

seemed to be on fire because of this. If they put up too much of a stink he would have

them reassigned. Their contracts ran out in six months. After that it wouldn’t be his

problem any more.



“This is incredible what you’ve found out. I’ll have to run it by the big boys of

course. We will need all of your records in lockdown before the end of the day. You

know the procedure. I’ll send my report up the line and let you know what they say.”

“That could take forever General. We need to act on this now.” Naomi stood up

her hands on her hips.

“Naomi. We have to follow protocol here. This isn’t our call.” Her husband put

his hand on her forearm to try and calm her down but she brushed it away.

“It isn’t right. This could be the answer to having cheap energy. How can we just

sit on this? I heard rumors about the other teams’ findings and how nothing is being

done. What are they waiting for?” She put her hands on the Generals’ desk. The

General stood and walked around the side of the desk.

“This isn’t my call you know. You are government employees as am I. We do

what we are told. There is nothing else to discuss. I’ll have Sergeant Reynolds escort

you back to your labs. I’m sending in Billings and Tollen to take possession of your hard

drives. It is standard procedure. Take a couple of weeks off. Cool down. Get some

perspective. There won’t be anything for you to do here for couple weeks anyway. By

then I’ll have your next assignment.” He signaled for Sergeant Reynolds who came in as

the Roland’s left his office, Naomi rushing out in a huff with Bruce trying to talk to her.

He also rang Billings and Tollen to meet them at the lab and begin the lockdown of all

their data.

“Don’t talk to me about this. It is wrong and you know it.” She whispered to

Bruce. “Wait until we’re home and we step outside to take a walk in the woods. How

can I speak my mind here when the whole world is listening?” Bruce took her hand and



stopped trying to calm her down. They would go over this later in the evening when they

were sure no one was monitoring their conversation.

Billings and Tollen arrived and escorted them back to the laboratory. They then

proceeded to take each of the portable hard drives into custody, installing new portable

drives in their place. They also removed the keystroke counters from each of the

computers. Bruce and Naomi having nothing further to do gathered their things and left

the office for their quarters near the edge of the compound.

General Line was back in his office going through the reports again. He dialed

Senator Gabe Carlson on a secure line and gave him the news.

“Senator I’m sorry to disturb you.”

“Martin? It’s good to hear from you. You’ll be up here for the committee

meeting next week right?”

“Yes I can’t wait to get away. Nowhere is not where I want to be.”

“This is important work you are doing General. I wouldn’t trust this to anyone

else.” The Senator leaned back in his chair and began flipping absently through some

reports on his desk.

“We have another confirmation Senator. I wanted to let you know. This one

looks very promising.”

“Well you know what to do with it. Keep them all together in a secure location

and then we’ll go over everything when you are here next week. What about your

scientists?” He asked.

“They don’t like not being able to follow this through. I told them to take a few

weeks off on the government’s expense. I think they are okay. Naomi seemed a bit



agitated. I’ve set up the usual surveillance teams to keep a watch on them. I just

received an email that they are leaving for Albuquerque in the morning. It will be good

for them to get away.”

“I know this is a little rough for you but you know the stakes. We don’t want this

information to leak out to the press. Cold Fusion is a dead issue. That’s the story. We

can’t go ahead and change the economy overnight. There would be chaos and a lot of

people would be very mad at losing their investments in the traditional energy sources.

We’ll leave it be for now. Who knows one day we may be ready to roll out with this.”

“We’re secured here sir. I understand.” The general answered crisply putting a

salute into his voice. This wasn’t any time to discuss the energy philosophy.

“Great. We’ll leave it at that then. Thanks for the report. I’ll see you next week.

Will you grace us with you company for dinner midweek? Dorothy wants you to meet

someone.” The Senator laughed knowing the General’s response.

“You tell Dorothy to stop making trouble or I’m going to steal her off you

Senator.

“Martin. I am looking forward to seeing. Talk to you soon.”

“Goodbye Senator.” General Line smiled to himself. The Senators wife

reminded him of his sister who had died in a car wreck five years ago. At the time the

Senators wife had helped him through his loss and through the years been a good friend.

It was why he tolerated all of her matchmaking attempts. To tell the truth, after all of

these years of bachelorhood, he was thinking about settling down. Two more years and

he would be retiring. It would be nice to have someone there all the time. The thought

surprised him. There were a lot of things, which surprised him lately including his



growing frustration with the nature of his job. He began to feel as if he were stopping

progress by couching all of these reports on viable energy solutions. He knew what was

behind these thoughts, but wasn’t quite ready to admit them to himself. Instead he did his

duty as always. Next week he would be returning to the Capitol. At least there he could

feel a part of something even he was just an outside contributor and not in the thick of it

as he had felt when he had a combat assignment or during his work in military

intelligence. He never argued with the Senator or any of his superiors. His opinions he

kept to himself. It is why most people liked him. He was a great listener and never gave

anyone a hard time except for those under his command when they weren’t snapping to

it. As he sat there putting away the reports from the Roland’s he began to have some

doubts about what he was doing. Cheap energy would be good for this country in the

long run. One day the evidence would be too substantial to bury under the rug. Musing

on this he locked the report in the portable files, which were to be removed this night to

the central location back in Maryland. As he left his office that evening he had an uneasy

feeling. His instincts told him that there was trouble brewing. He didn’t know where it

would come from. For now he would forget about it and take the offered ride back his

living quarters. The brisk New Mexico night had a chill, which reminded him of the

coming winter. As the car drove away he thought about the Roland’s and what they were

thinking about all of this.

Documents

Reach for the Sky--Mark Siet- Chapters